Brisbane Civic Cabinet Transport Chair Ryan Murphy has welcomed State Government talks about e-scooter safety, saying he was confident it would lead to better regulation of the burgeoning private e-mobility market.
Cr Murphy said it was clear many Brisbane residents loved e-mobility, with the city’s dedicated bikeways morphing into highways for the tens of thousands of privately-owned e-scooters in operation and the city’s share schemes clocking up over five million rides.
After some authorities recently expressed concerns that regulation had not kept pace with the rapidly expanding private e-mobility market, Cr Murphy said the State Government’s e-scooter safety talks on November 24 were an opportunity to address these issues.
“Since the State Government road rules changed in 2018 to allow these devices, Brisbane’s shareable e-scooter scheme has continued to evolve and improve with a number of world-leading reforms introduced to increase safety, including helmet locks, better e-scooter models and technology that prevents the devices being ridden in certain areas,” Cr Murphy said.
“However, the same cannot be said for the plethora of private e-scooters now hitting Brisbane’s streets. These e-scooters are big, fast and largely unregulated. Unfortunately, private e-scooters have become the wild west of the e-mobility market and the state regulations need to keep up.
“I am aware Queensland Police recently expressed concerns about the ability of their officers to crack down on these private e-scooters because of shortfalls in existing laws so these talks will be an ideal opportunity to begin discussing these problems and come up with solutions.
“With people able to use e-bikes, but not e-scooters, on Brisbane’s extensive network of bike lanes, clearly there’s growing consensus amongst walkers and riders to rectify this anomaly.”
Cr Murphy congratulated the State Government for committing to the discussions and welcomed the attendance of other key stakeholders.
“E-mobility devices are now a permanent part of our transport network because they offer a relatively inexpensive, efficient and fun way to get around,” Cr Murphy said.
“Authorities have a responsibility to ensure the rules keep pace with this revolution.
“I am hopeful that the State Government’s meeting can ignite some really positive and frank discussions and lead to some better rules for e-scooters and e-bikes as well as improved safety for everyone.”